Harry Kane Wins Ballon d’Or as Mbappe and Yamal Miss Out in London

London staged the Ballon d’Or ceremony for the first time on Monday night, and an Englishman finally took the trophy home.

Harry Kane was named the men’s Ballon d’Or winner at the London Palladium Theatre. The Bayern Munich striker is the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001, closing a 25-year gap.

Why the Harry Kane Ballon d’Or was hard to deny

The numbers made the case. Kane scored 73 goals for club and country across the season and finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer for the third year running. He also earned the Gerd Müller Trophy for the best striker earlier in the evening.

Reports from the ceremony described a visibly emotional winner. Kane said he was almost lost for words and thanked his England teammates, Bayern and Tottenham, where he made his name. The Harry Kane Ballon d’Or triumph came with a historic backdrop too, as the London ceremony recalled Sir Stanley Matthews, the award’s first winner 70 years ago.

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal were the closest challengers. Yamal still left with the Young Talent award for a third straight year, though he said teammate Pau Cubarsi deserved it.

Messi, Haaland and the rest of the top ten

Lionel Messi of Inter Miami landed inside the top ten, as did Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. Paris Saint-Germain players also featured, with Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Fabian Ruiz all making the list.

PSG collected the Men’s Club of the Year prize, and Spain’s Luis de la Fuente was named Coach of the Year. Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award.

Alexia Putellas, now at London City Lionesses, won her third women’s Ballon d’Or after earlier wins in 2021 and 2022.

For Kane, the next job is simple. The trophy shelf may be fuller, but the Bundesliga race and the next award cycle begin again straight away.